It's a sunny Tuesday morning here in Los Angeles and before E3-actual kicks off at noon PDT, we have the final (and most anticipated) of the publisher press conferences. Nintendo once again have the gaming world captivated as we all eagerly await the official reveal of their new HD console.

Codenamed Project Cafe, there's still very little substantiated information on the device and although most of the details are probably currently floating around out there over the web, there's too much misinformation to sort the signal from the noise -- Nintendo have done well to keep this one secret.

As with the previous press cons, Nintendo will be live streaming this event online too and (if you're awake at this hours in Australia) you can follow along from home at nintendo.com with the event kicking off today at 9am PDT (2am AEST).

AusGamers will once again be on-scene and if either the WiFi or AT&T stars align we should be able to get a live blog happening for this one. Otherwise, stay tuned for a wrap following the event.

God I wish there was a way to turn the scrolling chat off on gametrailers stream, its full of absolute idiots that are making me rage. Full of "None of this is as good as Call of Duty" or "PS3 has better graphics" people.

Or the Wii U actually has some kind of massive processing it lends to the Wii. Considering tablet devices have tonns of power now (ARM has like 1.4ghz dualcores or something). Maybe it does the processing and sends back the image to the wii to display to the TV.

NFI, but curious (and i haven't owned a wii for 3 years so i don't really know).

Wow, I'm really, really impressed, I didn't expect to be so blown away and impressed by it but they seem like they are pretty serious about grabbing the "hardcore" crowd this time around, while still doing some pretty amazingly cool innovative Nintendo magic.

It reminds me of ages ago, with Crystal Chronicles on the Gamecube, and you used your GBA as a controller and it was f*****g awesome but such a pain in the ass to try and get four people together who all had GBAs to use as controllers. My mind is boggling at the sheer number of cool things they can do with this.

I just like the fact it's a whole new console, and then basically a tablet as the controller, but with buttons and sticks. And my god the streaming. Walk by someones house with one, and just flick porn onto their screen. Hilarity ensue.

The Wii U is independent of the new (unannonced) console. Wii U will work with both the Wii and the new shiny. This makes sense, since you'll be able to buy this new controller in advance of the next-gen (which now appears to be something still a little ways off, sadly).

The Wii U is independent of the new (unannonced) console. Wii U will work with both the Wii and the new shiny. This makes sense, since you'll be able to buy this new controller in advance of the next-gen (which now appears to be something still a little ways off, sadly).

Wheres it say that? Cos in their press conference they specifically talked about it as a new "home platform" and said it'd be here in 2012. And theres no way any of those games they showed off could run on Wii, and that demo with the sparrow DEFINITELY couldn't run on Wii, and since the controller is essentially a dumb terminal with no processing power of its own that is getting pictures piped to it wirelessly, I can't see how it'd really be worth much without the new console to go with it.

Also, when they were listing all their platforms at the end, they listed Wii U as a platform.

Also, when they were listing all their platforms at the end, they listed Wii U as a platform.

They listed a hint of specs for the "wii U" which would be odd if they've not technically announced it.

the console itself will run in full HD, via HDMI, but the touchscreen isn't HD. The console has internal Flash memory which can be augmented with "SD Card or USB solutions". It will play optical disks and downloadable content, and will be backwards-compatible with Wii software. And it will launch some time between 1 April and 31 December 2012.

- Demos and new console run in 1080p HD
- Press conference footage demos were running on the new console (Wii U)
- The controller for is for the new console
- Existing Wii content remains SD (didn't say 'upscaled' but implied backwards compatibility), new content is HD
- Controller will have a web browser
- This year's show is about focusing on the controller, not the system behind it - this is due to the release schedule. Essentially, this is a pitch for developers, as much as it is an ad for the end user
- Price points and release schedules are still under wraps, but likely to ship "Holiday 2012"
- Warns developers that they need to consider the Wii's 86 million user base

I've updated the official news post with a reply containing some simplified info and pics.
You can check that here. It has a pic of the actual console itself, as well as a reasonable size screenshot from Zelda's HD appearance.

In short, Nintendo's gamble works. The controller is the best of both worlds, mixing traditional button inputs with the advantage of having an interface unlike anything we've seen from a home console.
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One of the more interesting alterations to conventional design is the system features two analog sliders at the top of the controller rather than traditional sticks. Don't make the mistake of thinking these sliders are like the 3DS "circle pad." The texture and top shape of the sliders are much more akin to Wii's nunchuk, meaning the grip and precision of movement are much better.
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The tablet itself appears large, but is actually quite comfortable to grip. The two sliders both being located at the top of the tablet make holding it considerably easier. A staggered configuration would only have worked with a much smaller design. Nintendo was also smart in making the new controller extremely light for its size, resulting in something that might look strange but is not as burdensome as it would seem.
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Nintendo played an interactive cinematic that put all my fears to rest. The difference in quality between that sequence and this was light years apart, making me wonder why I watched the hawk video in the first place.

The second major tech demonstration featured live footage of Japan, with a camera moving down a crowded street, hovering above vehicles. Like the hawk demo, the tablet was also featuring the footage shown on the television. But as I moved the new controller, I was able to see more of the city around me, without altering what was being shown on the larger screen. I could move the tablet upward to see the sky, or downward to see the street moving under me. Even more impressive, I could start to rotate the controller or "aim" it behind me to see where I had been. Pressing a button would also flip the portable display behind me, allowing me to see backwards similar to a rearview mirror. The potential for racing games with this sort of technology is truly impressive.
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I played two Mii mini-games on the new console. In a word, they are both fantastic. In concept, execution, scope and entertainment, they are leaps and bounds beyond what you experienced on Wii.
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I wasn't able to control Link, but the battle between him and Gohma that I saw was breathtaking nonetheless. Between changing the lighting, camera controls and even the tablet's display, this (Zelda) demo above all the others proved how Nintendo franchises might benefit from increased power. This was gorgeous stuff.